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Penn State Laureate to bring new perspective to music of The Beatles

March 11, 2014

Penn State Laureate to bring new perspective to music of The Beatles

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – Penn State Lehigh Valley will welcome the University's 2013-2014 Laureate, Kenneth Womack, for a special presentation at 7 p.m. on April 10 in room 135. Womack, a professor and dean of academic affairs at Penn State Altoona, will deliver a multimedia presentation, "From Work to Text: The Beatles' 'A Day in the Life,'" that will explore the act of discovery and composition in relation to the Beatles’ most lasting and luminous creation, "A Day in the Life." The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required.

Womack, a prolific writer of both scholarly and general-audience topics, is highly regarded as an expert of popular culture, most notably of the Beatles. He has authored or edited several volumes about the legendary British band, most recently "The Beatles Encyclopedia: Everything Fab Four," which was released in February 2014 by Greenwood Press in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' legendary appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."

"My vision is to share my passion for literary and musical appreciation, as well as the significance of pursuing lifelong learning opportunities," he explained. "Through my scholarship on the Beatles, for example, I challenge my audience to hear the familiar works of the group from new and more sophisticated perspectives."

Established in 2008, the Penn State Laureateship was founded in order to provide an enhanced level of social, cultural, artistic and human perspective and awareness to a broad array of audiences.